Sprinting And High-Knee Running: Half Cardio, Half Leg Torture

Today I did something for an extra workout in the afternoon. I usually perform my kettlebell exercises in the morning (today I did 100 double swings with 2 x 24 kg, 5 double squats, and 5 presses per arm) and this afternoon, out of sheer boredom, I decided to burn extra fat. My original plan was to play basketball and maybe try and recapture my old moves. Sadly, after venturing into four basketball courts within the village, everyone else got there first. I started searching at 4:30 PM and gave up at around 5:15 PM. The courts were really far from each other so I started running towards each one. When I finally gave up on playing today, I figured I should run instead.

And I did.

I didn’t want to do the usual long distance running or sprinting in short distance. I wanted something new. So aside from an HIIT workout through sprints and paced (moderate and steady) running, I wanted to try this high-knee jog I totally just made up today (I seriously didn’t have a clue if it existed). Sprinting was already torture since I haven’t really ran more than a kilometer in a while and then this new running idea just suddenly piqued my interest. I then knew that my legs were in for a surprise.

I started high-knee running trying to cover as little distance as possible, focusing on raising my legs high enough and fast enough. My pace was definitely slower but my heart rate was definitely faster (like chest-hurts fast). I did it with some side steps (left and right sides) to add some variety.

In the end, I didn’t even get to cover 2 km. Sportypal recorded 1.94 km with an average pace of only 3.64 km/h but I totally felt the burn in my thighs and abdomen. My fastest run today was at 14.5 km/h in case you were wondering. In any case, to see what I did, watch the video below: